Romancing the Ordinary: A Year of Simple Splendor 2004 Engagement Calendar [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Romancing the Ordinary is the latest book from Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of the best-selling Simple Abundance. In the mid-80s Sarah Ban Breathnach spent several months bedridden, "confused and disorientated" as the result of a head injury. Her eyesight blurred, listening to music made her dizzy and her senses of taste and smell had vanished. At first she bewailed her fate, but gradually her attitude changed--as she recovered her senses, she realised she had learned an important spiritual lesson: "I had discovered the miracle of the sacred in the ordinary."

In Romancing the Ordinary, Ban Breathnach is determined that we too learn how to "turn our days of lead into days of gold." Aimed especially at women, it's a month by month celebration of "simple splendour". Each chapter is headed by an inspirational quote, and is jam- packed with suggestions, recipes, observations, tasks and sensual treats to help you re-discover the feeling of "wonder". Ban Breathnach first task is a deceptively simple one--you have to learn how improve the quality of your days. If that sounds a bit worthy, don't despair, Ban Breathnach's approach is more practical magic rather than good house keeping. So sure, she does suggest getting rid of all the useless junk in your hand-bag, but she also wants you to fully appreciate decadent mugs of hot chocolate or make up your own 'scrumptious' baths oils, or go for a stroll in the park on a sunny day. Instead of waiting for a significant other to show you a world of passion and romance, she wants you to create it for yourself. Now there's a heartfelt challenge. --Eithne Farry --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Women were created to experience, interpret, revel in, and unravel the mysteries of Life through their senses," declares Breathnach (Simple Abundance), insisting that women have two extra senses: those of "knowing" and "wonder." Breathnach then works her way through the calendar year, offering tips to women to free their "essensual" selves. Much of the advice (e.g., make your own scented sachets and foot lotions) is rote. At times, Breathnach herself criticizes the commercialization of the sensual. For example, the bath is a "waterfall of delight" that's being "snuffed out by the banality of the self-enhancement poseurs." Homemade is the best way to go, says Breathnach, and even the hours spent preparing various potions are a gift in themselves. On the other hand, she heartily endorses purchasing gourmet fruits, "essensual sets of underwear," silk sheets and other luxuries, since these items also pleasure the senses. Fortunately, the object of all this pampering isn't just to attract a mate. Breathnach urges women to stop focusing on finding a partner and to "learn the sacred soulcraft of self-nurture." While exhortations to "become your own courtesan" may seem narcissistic, the message will strike a welcome chord among women who've learned that sacrificing for others isn't always worth it. At times Breathnach is unintentionally funny she recommends taking Beckett plays to the laundromat to "try on for size being an intellectual." But her occasionally pretentious use of quotations and capitalized references to the Spirit and the Divinity shouldn't stop her fans from pampering their Inner Goddess.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The founder of Simple Abundance Press and author of best sellers like Something More shows us how to get the most out of life with this sensuous guide to the seasons.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In her first major book since "Something More," #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Sarah Ban Breathnach takes readers to a new level of personal fulfillment and spiritual awareness as they learn to rediscover and savor the sensual experience of daily life.

Organized as a saunter through the year, "Romancing the Ordinary" celebrates the spirituality of the senses, seasonally and monthly. Ban Breathnach believes that women are endowed not with five senses but with seven. In addition to rediscovering sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch, readers will come to cherish their sense of "knowing" -- a woman's intuitive sense -- and "wonder," her sense of rapture and reverence.

Writing in the style so beloved by her millions of readers, and drawing on myth, literature, film, music, and drama, Ban Breathnach encourages each woman to discover what moves her to tears, makes her blood rush to her head, her heart skip a beat, and her soul sigh. Interwoven with the text are seasonal indulgences intended to restore weary feminine souls -- recipes, rituals, decorating, fashion, and gardening hints. By encouraging her to delight in the often overlooked gifts of every day -- from the aroma of simmering homemade spaghetti sauce to the sensation of freshly laundered linen against bare skin -- "Romancing the Ordinary" is sure to help every woman fall in love with Life.

Sarah Ban Breathnach's work celebrates quiet joys, simple pleasures and everyday epiphanies. Her wisdom, warmth, compassion and disarming candour have made her a trusted voice to millions of women. She is publisher of Simple Abundance Press and president and CEO of Simple Abundance, Inc., a consulting firm specialising in publishing and multimedia projects. Sarah is American but lives part of the year in Lincolnshire when writing. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

ROMANCING THE ORDINARY is written primarily for woman. Anecdotes and guidance are drawn from many different sources, including film and literature. Recovering from an accident that left her "senseless," Ban Breathnach revels in stepping back from the hustle and bustle of the life she, like many others, had constructed. The overall message is to find the opportunity to notice and learn from the five senses plus two (intuition and wonder) and to reconnect with core values. The author reads her own work smoothly and cheerfully, with no self-consciousness. Her reading style is consistent with the direct and conversational tone of her book. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.